How Many People Are Named Foster?
An estimated 7,518 people in the United States have the first name Foster. It is predominantly male (97.9%). The average bearer is 33 years old, and Foster peaked in popularity in 2023 with 257 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Foster as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Foster paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Foster is overwhelmingly male, 272 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
7,518
About 1 in 45,591 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
97.9% confidence
Average Age
33
years old
Peak Year
2023
257 births
Total Registered
13,130
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Foster
Foster is predominantly male (97.9%), though 272 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Foster as a male name
Ranked #1,075 in 2024
202 male births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (232 births)
Foster as a female name
Ranked #5,838 in 2024
21 female births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (25 births)
Foster: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Foster span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 1,988 babies were registered. While Foster is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Foster by Decade
How has Foster tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Foster by State
Birth registrations for Foster span all 37 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio. The lowest are in Arizona, South Dakota, Idaho. On average, about 178 Fosters were registered per state.
Foster + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Foster as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Foster
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
Foster: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Foster?
We estimate approximately 7,518 people named Foster are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 45,591 Americans share this first name.
Is Foster a common name?
Foster is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 13,130 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Foster most popular?
Foster reached peak popularity in 2023, when 257 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Foster is approximately 33 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Foster a male name?
Foster is predominantly male. 97.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Foster Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Foster Smith, Foster Johnson, Foster Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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